10 Places Where You Can Still See the Night Sky

Editor’s note: This Care2 favorite was originally posted on December 18, 2013.

For too many of us, getting a glimpse of the full panoply of the night sky has become a rare event. Only when in a national park or driving through farmland far away from urban centers can we behold all the constellations.

Here are ten places where the night sky is protected, and lighting controls prevent light pollution:

1. Northumberland Park, England

As of December 9, the 579 square miles of Northumberland Park have been given not just dark sky status, but also gold status.

As Steve Owens, dark skies consultant and chair of the IDA’s development committee, explains, “The quality of Northumberland’s night sky, and the huge efforts made by local communities to preserve them, make Northumberland Dark Sky Park a gold tier site, and one of the best places to stargaze in Europe.”

Plans are underway to further develop the park’s Kielder Observatory. As director Gary Fildes, one 80-year-old woman who saw Saturn was simply shocked to see the ringed planet:

She’ll have been through World War Two and went through some incredible things in her life, and for the first time in her 80 years she saw the planet Saturn for the first time, and saw it for herself, and that one moment alone was worth building the observatory for.

2. Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah

Located some 50 miles northwest of the Four Corners boundary of Utah, Natural Bridges National Monument was the first to be named an international dark sky park in 2007. According to the National Park Service, you can see 15,000 stars in the skies above the national parks — in contrast to only 500 in urban areas.

At the National Bridges moment, there is a “stunning river of light formed by the Milky Way rising over Owachomo Bridge” that, thanks to the IDA designation, is visible to visitors.

3. Death Valley National Park, California

The lowest point in the United States is located in Death Valley National Park; it now also bears the distinction of being the largest international dark sky park. Due to its distance from major cities, the view of the night sky from the desert floor is “pristine,” and “in many places, offers views close to what could be seen before the rise of cities.”

Visitors can actually see how extensive the Milky Way is, follow the path of a lunar eclipse or witness a meteor shower.

4. Zselic National Landscape Protection Area, Hungary

In heavily populated and industrialized Europe, finding a dark sky area is not easy. The Zselic region is located in the southwestern part of Hungary, far from the capital of Budapest in the northwest. 10,500 hectares — much of it woodlands — is protected. On a clear night, the “artificial component of luminance of the nocturnal sky” is actually less than the natural aspects, making it possible to see the Milky Way and the Zodiac.

Only a few forestry- and recreational-related structures can be found inside the park itself. Light management plans are being implemented in nearby villages, to keep Zselic’s sky dark.

5. The Headlands, Michigan

To help you get the best experience of the night sky above this park in Emmet County, Michigan, you can view a Skymap showing which constellations are visible. Consider checking out the one-mile long Dark Sky Discovery Trail that leads to a designated viewing area.

By giving areas dark sky status, the IDA also seeks to educate the public about the need to preserve the sky. To this end, Emmet County Staff organized a “Lights Out Across the Straits” event in August, asking residents and business owners to please turn out the lights — all the better to witness the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower. The event also served as a reminder that, amid the fireworks and laser displays of summer, it’s worth enjoying the light shows that nature herself offers.

6. Aoraki Mackenzie, New Zealand

The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve (IDSR) includes Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park and the Mackenzie Basin and is comprised of 1,600 square miles of New Zealand’s South Island; night skies here are almost “totally free from light pollution.” The site hosts the Mt. John Observatory — with tours during the night as well as the day — and also offers guided starlight tours.

Giving this area dark sky status was especially significant, as the night sky was key to navigation among the indigenous Maori. It also served to integrate “astronomy and star lore into their culture and daily lives.”

8. Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales

Sheep outnumber people 30 to 1 in this park in southern Wales; it can be described as a “secluded utopia for stargazing and appreciating the natural nighttime environment.”

Those who live within the park’s borders are encouraged to reduce their light pollution to maintain its unique sights and also to get to know nocturnal creatures — including “barn owls, lesser horseshoe bats and other bat species, foxes, badgers, dormice, hedgehogs, moths and insects.” All of these animals need the dark to hunt their prey, and over-lighting threatens their survival.

9. Flagstaff, Arizona

The IDA also recognizes communities that are seeking to “achieve a community-wide lighting code, promote responsible lighting, dark sky stewardship, and exist as an example to surrounding communities on the possibilities available with the proper lighting.”

10. Borrego Springs, California

Borrego Springs in San Diego County is also a certified international dark sky community. The town is surrounded on four sides by Anza-Borrego State Park, whose 600,000 acres make it the largest state park in the U.S.

With fewer than 4,000 residents, Borrego Springs would be unlikely to make much of a light footprint. The pristine quality of the community’s skies is notable because, as Oregon Live points out, Los Angeles, Coachella Valley, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Mexicali and San Diego-Tijuana all surround Borrego Springs.

Rather than turning on as many lights as possible when nights get long, why not look up into the sky and see what you can find to admire?

Share it with your friends

253 comments

When I was a child, my grand-mother took me into the countryside in summer, in North-West Italy and we used to walk in the evening (before the Summer time was ever decided) and I remember how immense the sky was above the fields and how beautiful. I could see the Milky Way and the crickets were singing their song and the fireflies were all around. All that is gone: clear, dark skies, crickets and fireflies all thanks to pollution, chemical and light pollution.

I am so spoiled as I have lived in isolated places in Australia many years of my life and have had the opportunity to see and study the stars, planets, comets and satellites in our heavens on a nightly basis. I never take this for granted.

Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2.